Rene Ricard's Due for a Comeback

Rene Ricard is a living legend. Once an influential critic at Artforum championing the work of '80s artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Judy Rifka and John Ahearn in a seminal essay "The Radiant Child", he's survived years of hard times to come out the other side thanks to the support of friends and benefactors who never gave up on him. Now he's due for a resurgence, first with an upcoming show of his artwork at Half Gallery and as a poet giving readings around town. Here Liza Bear captures Ricard in his role as a poet at a recent reading.